Zero Years Later
by SpyGlassGear
Summary: What happened after Saito and Louise opened the portal to Earth, well, here's the answer. It's been ten years, and things have changed. Earth and Halkeginia have discovered that each other exists, and have set up communications between them. But there are those who want to abuse those connections. And a new mystery involving a new type of mage, will begin to unfold.
1. Kato's First Day

**Kato's First Day**

"Mommy, mommy look. That boy and that girl appeared out of no where and are standing in the middle of the street. Mommy look."

"Yes dear, I'm sure they...Oh my...where did they come from. And what's that behind them?"

Everyone else around us had started to notice them by this point and had started to ask similar questions.

"Is that girl a foreigner?"

"Who is that boy, why is he caring her?"

"What's going on?"

"Are they street performers?"

"Yah, that must be it."

"That was a pretty cool trick..."

"Mommy, I want to stay and watch the street performers, can we, please?"

"No honey, we need to hurry or well miss the train. Come along now."

As we left, I watched as the hole behind them closed, and they turned to walk down the street. I thought that was a pretty cool how they had done that, and I wanted so much to ask them. I just wanted to...

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP! SMACK!

It had been a while since I had had that dream. It was ten years ago and I still remember it like it was yesterday, weird. I sat in bed for a few minuets staring at the ceiling, wondering what to do.

"Kato, are you up honey."

"Yah mom, I'm getting dressed."

"Okay, your breakfast is ready."

I climbed out of bed and started to get dressed for school. I grabbed my glasses and walked down stairs into the kitchen where the rest of my family was already sitting eating their breakfast. My father was sitting and reading the newspaper like he always did every morning, next to him sat my Onee-chan Shinobou. She was only one year older then me, but she always acted like it was more. My mom was in the kitchen cleaning some dishes.

"Morning honey, sleep well?" She asked as she turned around.

"Yah, I did." I sat down and started to eat my rice. I glanced up and saw my sister staring at me with a quizzical look on her face.

"What?"

"What's with that look on your face?" She asked.

"What look?"

"That puzzled/happy look. Don't tell me you had a naughty dream last night. Agh, you are so immature, I sometimes wonder if we really are related."

"Now wait just a minute, I had no such dream last night at all, so stop jumping to conclusions like you always do." Although I will admit it was nice having that dream again. Seeing those two appear out of no where was by far the coolest thing I had ever seen.

"Shinobou stop teasing your brother. It doesn't concern you what kind of dreams he has, now finish eating both of you or you'll be late for school." My father said from behind his newspaper. I quickly wolfed down the last bits of my food and ran out the door before my sister could say another word to me.

When I got to class, I started to zone out and think about the dream I had from last night again. But just then, my teacher called out my name.

"Kato. KATO!"

"Uhh, yes Sempi?"

"I asked you if you know what today marks?"

"Uhh...no...sorry."

"Well then, I suggest you pay a little more attention in class then, instead of staring out the window all the time. Now then, does anyone else in the class know what today marks?

Someone on the other end of the room raised their hand to answer. "Today marks the discovery of our sister planet."

"Correct, very good. Today marks the tenth anniversary of the day that the two children, by the names of Saito and Louise, appeared in the middle of Tokyo's Business District, through a portal to another world." I started to listen, because what out teacher was talking about was exactly what I had seen in my dream last night.

"Now, as you all know..." Okay, I've heard this story plenty of times, so allow me to retell it to you readers in simpler terms.

Ten years ago today, when Saito and Louise made their first trip back to this world, no one really thought much of it at the time. Those who did witness it thought of it ass nothing more then a simple parlor trick. But then, they started to make more frequent trips here, appearing in a different place every time. Some times on a street, on the roof of a building, in the subway. One time, even in the middle of a football field (this refers to soccer for you Americans). After this last sudden appearance, the media started to have a field day with these two, trying to track them down and gather information. There were even several large name scientists who wanted to study then, and their ability to teleport.

And then, somehow, I don't really know how, a small group of scientists in America were able to recreate the dimensional portal that those two used to travel. It turned out to be some sort of wormhole that was able to be created in any point of space at will. Now, the portal that they created was nowhere near as big enough for two people, let alone one person to walk through. But it was large enough to get a connection made with the other world. The portal didn't stay open for long, nor did the scientists know who they had contacted exactly, but a few days later, the two travelers appeared out of nowhere in front of the research facility. There, the scientists expressed their eagerness to learn more about how to travel between the worlds, and of the life on the other planet. They left for the other world and came back a month later, saying that they would like to come to some agreement with all the world's leaders at a peace conference.

Then, one year later, a UN meeting was set up, with all the world leaders from around the world at attendance, because by now, word of this other world and the two travelers had spread quite far. Appreciably at the meeting, not only the leaders from our worlds, but all the leaders from the other world as well were their in attendance. As one can assume, not everyone liked the idea of establishing a connection of communication between the two worlds. Some wanted to prohibit any further connection between the worlds, and go back to the way things were. But as it turned out, that would be impossible. Not only did we quite well know of the existence of their world, but word of the existence of our world had already traveled across their world as well. It was agreed that it was better to set up a connection and ground rules between to two worlds, due to the fact that since everyone knew the other planet existed, people would try their hardest to establish their own connection. And since it had already been done once, it was only a matter of time before it was done again.

So an agreement was struck between all the leaders. A sort of "telephone" connection would be set up in order to be able to communicate with the two worlds. The original plan was to set up direct transportation connections between the two worlds, but there were a few snags in this plan.

The first problem was that no one knew how the public would react to strangely dressed people with odd technologies and ablates suddenly appearing out of nowhere and walking around. This was mainly a problem with the inhabitants of Halkeginia, who we found were still in the equivalent of our 18th century. They had just discovered the power of steam, and argued that the sudden burst of electrical and gas powered machines running around their world would send everyone into a state of panic.

The second problem was that the flow of time was different in the two worlds. Their time ran twice as fast as out time, meaning one year in this world, equaled two in theirs. So no one knew exactly how having a constantly opened portal would affect the flow of time and reality in the two places. For all we knew, it could tear it apart.

The third problem was that it was physically impossible at the moment for a portal to remain open at the moment. So far, we had only been able to keep a small quarter-sized portal open for about a minuet, and the larger portals that they used to travel were controlled by Louise, who could only keep it open for about the same amount of time.

So it was agreed upon that both sides would work towards setting up a smaller portal system, like a telephone, that would be opened up about once a month for a few hours at a time, during which we would be able to transfer information and knowledge between the two worlds. Both parties agreed to this idea, and also agreed that each "receiver" of the telephone, would be housed in a new Interdimensional Science Facility, that would be housed in unclaimed land space in both worlds. Here, scientists and politicians from all over each respective world would meet and gather information to share with the other world. This way, no one power could monopolies it and use it to corrupt the other world. This was agreed upon, and the two worlds went back to their respective worlds to begin preparations for the day to connect the two worlds. That day finally came one year ago.

Since the set up of the IPCS (Interdimensional Peace Communication System) we have been able to establish a fairly solid connection with Halkeginia, and been able to learn valuable information such as new medical practices, cooking techniques, and even some of the basis of how they are able to use magic. We were also able to solve two missing persons cold cases. It turns out that Saito was not the first person to be summoned to their world, two more before him were taken in the same fashion. The ones who summoned him were known as Void Mages, and were considered the most powerful of all. Though as to why they had human familiars was still a mystery, even to them. When the respective countries of who the abducted people asked for them back, all that could reply said no.

The first was Saito, who refused due to the fact that he now had a family there and would leave them under no circumstances. The second was a blond male who was from England. He to refused due to the fact that his master, the High Priest, had left him with the task of helping to watch over the people of his world before he died. The third was also a member of Japan, but could not answer the call due to the fact that she had died along with her master during his attempted rise to power as the sole ruler of Halkenginia. This riled our people up a bit for a while, saying that they had been brainwashed by their magic into thinking they wanted to stay there, and that Halkenginia had no right to keep them there. Connections shut down for a while after this, but were reinstated when it was proven that they really did want to stay there, and that if this ever happened, that that person or people would be given the chance to come back home if they wanted to. Every one felt this was a fair agreement, and once again started the IPCS back up. Since then, there has only been one account of someone being summoned to Halkenginia by a Void Mage, a Scottish orphan boy, who refused to come back. It seamed that the orphanage where he lived didn't have a very good caretaker, so he was much happier their. Apparently he became a bit of a Prime Minister for our world, and agreed to help with the IPCS, and the translation and transfer of information.

And that's about it, there haven't been a lot major happenings or discoveries yet due to the small gap of time through which we can communicate, so everything is still just getting off the ground. As for why we celebrate the union of you two worlds each day, I just don't get. True it's with another planet in another dimension, but we can't travel their yet. In my mind, our celebration is a little premature. What I would love to do it be able to travel there myself and see it with my own eyes. I've always wondered what that other world would look like.

"Kato. KATO!"

"Yes Sempi?"

"You were daydreaming again. I would like you to stay after school for detention today please."

"Great."

"Aww man, I'm going to be sore in the morning."

"What did she make you do this time Kato?" I turned. I saw Mitskuni walking up behind me. "What are you doing here? Don't tell me you had detention as well."

"As if. One of the teachers asked me to help me sort out some papers. It ended up taking longer than he had planned."

"Oh, I see."

Mitskuni was my childhood friend. We had been going to the same school since first grade, and had always gotten along just fine. Some people thought that we were dating because of how we acted around each other. I saw her more as a sister, though I wasn't sure how she saw me. I never thought to ask.

"Hey, you want to go to that new bookstore that just opened up, it's on the way home?" Mitskuni asked.

A bookstore sounded like a lot of fun right about now. I could really use some new mechanical engineering books. Or I could see if they have that new book on steam locomotives that just came out. "Sure, I'd love to."

"Yah! Let's go, or well miss the train."

The new bookstore was amazing. Three stories tall, and every wall covered in books. Mitskuni immediately shot over to the shojo-romance section, I perused looking to see if they had anything I was looking for. I was able to find a couple of books on material engineering that could be useful, as well as one on robotics. I was planning on going to college and studying to be a robotics expert, so these books could be useful. I asked about the book on steam locomotives, and one of the store hands directed me over to it. I walked by the manga section on my way and found Mitskuni with her nose deep in a school romance book. I found the book I was looking for and started to head to the cashier when I heard it.

"Come..." I froze.

"...summon...fa..."

"Kato, are you all right?" Mitskuni was standing right in front of me.

"Did you hear something just now?" I asked.

"No, why?"

"Nothing..it's nothing."

"Haha, you must be working yourself to much, always reading those robo books. You need to lighten up more." She said as she slapped my back, mocking my glasses askew.

"Gee, thanks. But the same could be said for you and those romance books of yours." I retorted back.

"You're mean," she said with a pouty look on her face. "A young girl such as myself needs these books to tell her how to win a mans heart."

"What ever happened to just following your heart and doing what you feel will get his attention."

"Because sometimes that man is a big block head!" She screamed. Then it hit me.

"So who is it that you like. I doubt you would go to these extremes just out of shear pleasure." I said as I rubbed my shoulder

Mitskuni's face turned bright red. "No...I I I don't have anyone I like, so...so just stop asking, alright!"

"Ow, okay, fine. Come on, we need to pay for these books and catch the last train home."

By the time we got back to your neighborhood, it had gotten pretty dark out. As we approached the front of Mitskuni's house I turned to say good bye.

"Well good night Mitskuni, I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Wait!" I stopped and turned around.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I...I lied earlier." She stammered.

"About what?"

"When I said I didn't have anyone I liked. I lied." She was starting to turn red again.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because it..."

"I summon..."

"Wait, did you hear that?" I said as I turned around.

"Huh, hear what?"

"The voice from earlier."

"No one was talking other then me. Please, listen, I really want to tell you this."

"Oh, yah, sorry, what was it you wanted to say." I turned back to look at her when I saw it. A large floating green oval, in the middle of the street, right behind Mitskuni. I thought my glasses might be dirty, so I cleaned then and put them back on. The green oval was still there. What was that thing? I started to walk towards it.

"Where are you going, I asked you to listen to me."

"Surely you can see that. That giant green oval there." I said as I poked it.

"I summon you, my familiar of power."

"What?" Then, I was sucked in.

The next thing I knew, I was falling, or what felt like falling, I couldn't tell, I was surrounded by the green. I had no idea what was going on. Then I saw a light up ahead. Good, a way out. I reached out for it with my hand, only it wasn't exactly a hand anymore, it had shrunk. I looked down at my arm and saw that it was starting to sprout black hairs all over it. What was going on? Black, white and gray hair was starting to cover my entire body. My clothes, glasses and book bag fell off and disappeared into the green swirl. Just then, I broke out of the tunnel and into the light. I squinted because it was so bright, and when my eyes adjusted, I was really scared.

I found I really was falling, and not just a short distance, but a long way down. I saw the grass quickly coming up to meet me, along with a large building that appeared out of no where. It almost looked like a castle. There were five pillars around the outside, with one more right in the middle, and walls and corridors connecting all of them. I had no idea what was going on, but I didn't like it. Please, please, please let this be a dream. Please let the teacher yell at me right now and wake me up. Please let my alarm go off and let me find myself in my bed I thought to my self. No luck, and the ground was getting closer by the second. So this was how I was going to die, falling to my death above some unknown area. Just then, there was another flash of light, this time blue, and everything stopped.

I was laying on the ground, smoke and dust swirling around me, along with my head. I tried to stand up, but my legs gave out and I flopped back onto the grass. I looked up and tried to see what was going on. My eyes were out of focus, probably from the ride I just took, but I could make out the outlines of what appeared to be people.

*"What is it?"*1

*"Can you see?"*

*"Come on, let me see."*

*"What do you think she got?"*

*"Hang on, the smoke is clearing."*

_Okay, am I hearing them right, or are my ears messed up as well, because it sounds like they're speaking French. How in the world did I end up in France?! Okay, let's see if maybe one of these people can help me, though I doubt they would believe me. The real problem is the language barrier. My English isn't that good, and I highly doubt any of these people know Japanese, but here goes nothing_. I opened my mouth to speak, but the next sound I made was the last one I expected to make.

"Meow." Was that me? No, it couldn't. Let me try again. "Meow, meow meow."

*"That sounded like a cat."*

*"Let me see, let me seeeeee!"*

The smoke and dust finally cleared, and my eyes adjusted to the light. My situation had just gotten a lot worse.

_Oh my god. France has been taken over by GIANTS!_ There, standing in front of me was a crowd of giant boys and girls, all wide eyed with a look of amazement on their faces. I tried to stand up again and run, but when I did, this time I ended tripping and face planting into the dirt.

*"Oh, the poor thing, you must be frightened."*

I felt two hands reach down and pick me up off the ground with little effort, and cradle. When I looked up, I found myself looking into the eyes of a giant girl, who looked like she could be around my age. She was really quite cute for a girl her size. She had long black hair that flowed over her shoulders and down her back, and dark pink, not quite red, eyes. She was holding me in her arms like a little child, and was gazing at me with a calming look that a mother would give her new born baby, as if sawing welcome to the world. Now I wanted to know where on earth this new world was, or wasn't. Then I felt something warm pushing against my side, I looked over and saw she was pushing me up against her chest. It was so soft and warm. This wasn't turning out to be so bad after all. Then I felt a chill run down my spine. I looked the other way and saw about half the boys in the crowd shooting me looks of death at me. Apparently, who ever this girl was, she was popular.

*"So what are you going to name it?"* Some girl spoke up from the crowd. I still couldn't understand French, but I felt like that was directed at me.

*"I don't now yet."* The one holding me responded as she held me in front of her to get a better look at me.

*"Hey, look at the fur pattern on its back. They look like wings."*

*"What?"*

Whoa! I was flipped over so I was now lying on my stomach, still cradled in her arms.

*"Your right. Hey, what about you name it Angle. You know, because they look like angle wings!"*

Before anything else happened, someone else swopped in and grabbed me out of the arms of the girl who was holding me. This time, it was a male student. He also looked about my age, maybe a year younger. His hair was light blue, and as long as the red-eyed girl's, but his was drawn back into a pony tail. His eyes were the same shade of blue as his eyes, and he had a large pair of glasses on. He was holding me at arm's length, and appeared to be inspecting me. His eyes ran up and down my body, making me feel very uncomfortable. Then he stopped and stared at my waste.

*"Boy."*

I had no idea what he said, but I wanted to know why he said it. I looked down and saw he was staring at my junk. I quickly crossed my legs and covered it with my paws so no one else would see it. Hold on, paws? I lifted up my hands again and stared at them. But they weren't my hands anymore, they were now cat paws.

What the hell's going on here!? I thought. I wriggled out of the boys grasp and fell to the ground. I sat up and looked around. I saw a fountain a little ways off, and made a dash for it. It was hard at first, and I tripped a couple times, but I eventually made it. I clambered onto the edge and looked down into the reflection. Only what was looking back wasn't me, it was a cat. I rubbed my eyes, there's no way this could happen, no way. But when I looked back, there was there was the same cat staring back at me. What's going on here, what happened to me, where am I?! So many questions entered my head at that point, that I must have fainted, because I don't remember much after that point, other then being consumed by darkness, and a pair of soft hands reaching out to catch me.

I was lying in my bed, so soft, it felt great. Everything had been a bad dream. I had never been pulled into a glowing green oval and traveled to a weird French-speaking area, where I had some how been turned into a cat. I was back home in my own bed, it was a Saturday, which meant I could sleep for a little while longer. I rolled over to look at my clock to see what time it was. Instead I see a girl standing in her underwear taking off her shirt.

"MEROW!" I scramble up and fall out of my bed. Great, apparently it wasn't a dream. I really had been pulled into a glowing green oval and traveled to...you get the picture. I rolled over and stood up, on my four legs, and managed to walk a few steps. This was starting to get a little easier. It was almost like crawling. When I looked up, I saw the red-eyed girl crouched over me and staring at me.

*"Well, look who finally woke up. You really gave me a scare there, I wasn't sure what had happened."* She had put a pouty face on for the last part of the sentence, which made me think she didn't like the fact that I had fainted on her.

_Well I'm not to pleased with this situation either, just so you know. You at least seam to have some sense of what is going on here, because I would sure like to know._ My stomach growled after that. I just realized that I hadn't eaten since lunch, and was starving.

*"I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you some cream."* She set a small saucer with a strange white liquid down in front of me. I was hungry, but not hungry enough to drink something I had no idea what it was. It looked like milk, but I wasn't sure. I backed away a bit, not wanting to get to close. The girl seamed to understand what this meant.

*"Do you not trust me. Here, I'll prove its okay."* I watched as she walked over to a small table in the middle of the room and pick up a small silver spoon off of it. She walked back, reached down, placed the spoon in the white liquid, and drank it.

*"See, nothing wrong with it."* She said with a smile. I waited a few more moments to see if anything really did happen to her, but nothing did, so I figured it was safe. With her still hovering over me, I slowly approached the bowl and lowered my mouth to it. It tasted just like milk, only it was richer. Cream? It tasted good, and after the day I had had, I gulped it down. Seeing as I was finally eating, this seamed to make the girl happier, and calm down a little. She stood up and walked back over to her bed to finish changing. I decided to finish my meal from the other side of the bowl. I may be a cat on the outside, but I was still a man on the inside, and I was not about to take advantage of this situation and look at a vulnerable girl just because of that fact. I slurped down the last of the cream and sat down. My stomach was full, and I was feeling sleepy, and gave a little yawn, which she must have heard.

*"Looks like someone was hungry, and after the day you've had, who could blame you."* She picked me up and held me in her arms again. The warmth of her body felt so good, it was making me even sleepier. Then I felt her hand run down my back. It felt really good. As she rubbed my head, I found myself starting to purr. I guess it was an involuntary reflex that came with being a cat. She walked over to the bed and sat down, her legs crossed. She placed me in her lap and continued to pet me.

Now I see why cats like this, it feels sooooo goooooood. She stopped petting me, so I looked up. She had put a stern look on her face, and was staring intently at me. I was starting to get a little uncomfortable.

*"You're not like other cats are you? You seam to understand human language."* I had no idea what she just said, so I tilted my head to the side to see if she would understand. She seamed to.

*"Do you understand me"* Now she spoke in what sounded like German. I tilted my head again. She seamed to understand this meant, "Please change your voice to a different language setting to continue this further conversation."

"Do you, u..und..understand me?" English! Finally a language I had some sense of. But it seamed she had just about as much sense of it as I did, so I wasn't sure how far it would get us. But at least it was a start. I nodded my head a little, and her eyes grew and lit up like lights.

*"I knew it, I knew it. I thought there was something different about you! Yes, this proves I'm like her. I have a familiar that can understand human language!"*

And were back to the French setting. Great, is there some way to keep it on English? Even if it's not much, it's better than nothing. She then jumped up and sent me flying to the other end of the bed and caused me to hit my head. She saw what had happened and picked me up.

*"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to. I guess I got a little too excited when you...you..*yawn*. Oh, looks like I'm just as tired as you are, we've both had a busy day, so how about we go to bed now. Oh, I should probably introduce myself before we go to bed. Though I would probably have better luck if I spoke in the language you understand."* She had stopped talking, and my head had stopped hurting, so I looked up at her. She sat me down on the bed across from her and then sat down herself, and then pointed at herself.

"My n...name, Clair." She stammered in English again. So her name was Clair, it was certainly a fitting name for her.

Nice to meet you Clair, my name is Kato. "Merow." Of coarse that's all that would come out, I was still a cat. Clair pointed to me, "Do you have name?" I nodded my head in response. *"Let's see if we can figure it out shall we?"* She sat there for a few moments just staring at me, I was wondering what she was going to do next. "Rupert?" And she pointed at me. I guess she was trying to guess my name, and this was her first try. If this was her first try, I didn't think she was going to get it any time soon. I shook my head, and she tried again. "Alfread, Henery, Berz..." She rattled off name after name for the next fifteen minuets, but none of them were my name. Things weren't looking to good, and I was starting to get tired again.

*Yawn* I looked up and saw that Clair was yawning and stretching herself. *"Sorry I couldn't guess your name, but I'll try again tomorrow."* She crawled to the front of her bed and got under the sheets. I stood up and began to walk to the edge of the bed. *"No no, I want you to sleep here."* And she patted a section of the bed right next to her. I guess she wanted me to sleep there instead of in the basket. I trotted over next to her and lied down. The bed was soft, and had a sweet scent to it. I felt Clair lay down next to me and stroke my back again. I quickly drifted off to sleep after that.


	2. Clair's First Day

**Clair's First Day**

Author's Note: This chapter is from Clair's point of view. For future chapters, who ever's name appears under the chapter title, the chapter will be from their point of view. Enjoy.

"Clair, Clair, wake up, wake up. Today's the day!" I woke up to someone pounding on my door and shouting at me. I crawled out of bed and opened the door. My friend Monique was standing on the other side with the big grin on her face that she always wore. She had her school robes on, and here blond hair was done up in its usual braid. Why was she dressed up this early on a weekend? "What do you mean today's the day. It's a Saturday, let me go back to sleep please, I was having a dream about my familiar."

Monique crossed her hands and looked at me. "Was it the one where you summon a huge dragon and save the world? Again."

"Maybe." I said blushing.

"Well, you can stop dreaming about it, because today's the day you might be able to summon it."

"What?" I asked. I was still half asleep.

"Geeze, for a square mage, you sure are forgetful. Today's the day we get to summon our familiars silly." This woke me up. I had completely forgotten that was today. I had stayed up half the night trying to think of a good summoning spell to use today, and must have fallen asleep half way through. I slammed the door shut and ran to get dressed. I had looked forward to this day since my brother Charles summoned a giant falcon during his ritual last year. Both my brother and I went to the same school our parents attended when they were our age, Tristain Academy of Magic. My brother was one year ahead of me, and a member of the Founder Knights group that our father had helped create. He was also really popular with some of the girls. My friend Monique had a huge crush on him.

I pulled on my white shirt and black skirt, black stockings and shoes, then threw on my second year cape, grabbed my want, and rushed to the door. I threw it open and found Monique crouched on the ground rubbing her nose.

"What's wrong?"

"You slammed the door on my face." She said with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, sorry. Come on, let's go!" I grabbed her arm and ran down the hall to breakfast.

The great hall was already filled with students by the time Monique and I got there for breakfast. It didn't look like there were any extra seats for us.

"Clair, Monique, over here." A little girl with long light blue hair had spotted us and was waving to us. "We saved you some seats, come on!" We ran over to her, and found two empty seats across from her, and sat down.

"Thanks Alexandria, I wasn't sure if we were going to get any seats or not. This place is packed."

"Well, this is the day the second years get their familiars, so it's no surprise that everyone wants to come and watch." Alexandria was a second year, just like me. Our parents had been friends in school, so we had grown up together. She had a twin brother, but I didn't see him. "Where's Alexander?"

"Where do you think? He's probably in the grounds reading. As usual."

"But what about breakfast?"

"He already ate."

Even though Alexander and Alexandria were twins, there were complete opposites. Alexander took after his aunt, who was the Queen of Gallia, quiet, didn't say much, and usually kept to himself. He even looked like her. His sister on the other hand, was always energetic, and rarely stopped talking.

"So, what do you think you'll get today Clair? I hope I get something that can fly, so I can ride it all around Tristain like my Aunt. Or maybe a snake, and have it hypnotize anyone who looks into its eyes. No no no no, wait, I know, I want a..."

"How about something that maybe keeps you quiet for more then five seconds." I looked over, and saw that Katra had decided to make her appearance. She to was a second year, and was the dream of just about every boy in the school. She was tall with bright red hair down to her shoulders, with a few streaks of dark brown. Aside from the hair, she was an exact image of her mother. She had her figure, her nice caramel skin color, and her large chest. I never found it fare, were the same age, but she was more developed. Plus, me and my other friends only came up to her chest, so every time we turned to look at her, they were always the first things we saw, which just made it all the more annoying. She sat down next to Alexandria and began to help herself to some pork.

"Now that's not very nice Katra. I can't help it if I'm curious."

"Being curious is fine. I would just like to be able to sit and eat a meal for once and be able to hear myself think is all."

"Humph!"

"Well, Katra, do you have any idea as to what you'll be getting?" I was hoping to divert the conversation away from what looked like could go explosive at any moment.

"I really don't, I just hope it's something that is both fierce and elegant, like me." She added with a little chuckle.

"Monique, do you have any ideas?"

"Not one. I just hope it's something useful. Not all of them have a very practical purpose you know, other then messengers."

I hadn't thought about that. But it was true, when you thought about it. Basic animals like birds, cats and mice, really couldn't do much but keep you company and run errands. Dogs could at least hunt and defend you, but you really didn't get into any powerful familiars until you look at creatures like dragons and griffons. Or if your a void mage and summon a human. I suddenly felt really nervous. I really wanted something like a dragon, so I could prove to everyone that I'm my own person, and not my brother or my parents. I really wanted this to go well. I excused my self from the table and walked outside for some air.

Outside, I found an empty table under a tree and sat down. What was I going to do? What if the ritual didn't go well and I summon a completely useless familiar? Then what?

"Aaaaarrrgg!" I screamed.

"Feel better?" I jumped. I hadn't noticed it when I sat down, but there was a book propped open on the other side of the table, and it was talking. Then the book lowered itself to reveal a little boy with glasses and long blue hair like his sister's, drawn into a pony tail, staring at me with the same blank look as always.

"Oh, Alexander, I didn't see you there, sorry. Yah, I'm fine, just nervous about the ritual today." He nodded and went back to his book. I wondered how it was that he always kept so calm.

After breakfast finished, all the second years were lead out onto the grounds by our science teacher, Mr. Colbert. Everyone was chattering among themselves about what they were going to get.

"I bet I'm going to get a tiger."

"Well, I bet I'll get a phoenix."

"I'll get a dragon!"

Oh no you don't, the dragon is mine!

"Okay children," Mr. Colbert said, "today is the day you second years summon your own familiars. Now a familiar is someone who you will spend the rest of your life with, so treat them with respect, think of them as an extension of yourself. They can be used for anything you can think of, from delivering a message, to transporting you to different places, even be able to help defend you in battle. Depending on what type of magic you use the best, and your own personality, this will determine what you will summon. Now the only real rule with the summoning process is that there is no specific spell that you can use to summon a familiar, you have to come up with it on your own. So, one at a time, I want everyone to step up in front of the class and perform your ritual. No need to be shy, who wants to be first?"

"Me, me, I'll go first daddy!" I looked over and saw Katra running forward, her wand at the ready.

"Very well sweetie, but please remember that while at school, treat me as your teacher."

"Right, sorry." She turned and stood with her arms stretched out, and a bright red circle appeared in front of her. "Come to me, creature of beauty and power!" I snickered a little at this, it was so like her to say that. But I stopped as soon as I saw what had come out. A small red bird, with the longest tail I had ever seen, flew right out of the circle, and landed on her shoulder.

"Congratulations Katra, you've summoned a phoenix."

"Thanks daddy I mean, Teacher." She said with a small smile, and walked off. I couldn't believe it, she got a phoenix. The first summoning ritual of my class, and it's a phoenix. I was really scared now. How was that going to be topped? I decided to hang back and watch for a while.

Of my friends, Alexandria was next, and she summoned a large python, while her brother got a pigmy water dragon. A few more later, and Monique went and got a large dog. I started to wonder more and more what I would get. I hoped it would be good.

"Has everyone gone now?" I heard Colbert ask. I snapped out of my dream.

"No, I still have to." I said walking forward.

"Ah yes, Clair. Let us hope you get something special."

Gee thanks, I thought to myself. I stood in front of my class, still shaking. I really want something good, give me something good. I raised my hands and began the ritual.

"I summon you, my familiar." A large purple rune symbol appeared on the ground. The light suddenly grew brighter, followed by an explosion that knocked everyone back. Smoke swirled around everything, and made it hard to see.

"What is it?"

"Can you see?"

"Come on, let me see!"

"What do you think she got?"

"Hang on, the smoke is clearing."

I koffed a little as the smoke swirled around, waving my hand trying to clear it so I could see. But it was pointless, it was too thick. Then, out of no where, I heard a small noise.

Meow. Meow, meow meow!

"It sounded like a cat."

"Let me see, let me see!" I could tell my classmates were really anxious to see what I had summoned, and so was I. But I couldn't help thinking. A cat, that's all I get, how, plain. But when the smoke cleared, I found myself looking at the most beautiful cat I had ever seen. Its fur was as black as midnight, and looked as soft as silk. It had a small white tip on the end of its tail, and some of the most interesting fur patterns I had ever seen. On its face, were gray markings that made it look like it was wearing glasses, and on its back, what looked like a pair of wings. All in all, a little disappointing, but it would make a nice companion when I'm alone, and it probably could catch some of those mice I occasionally found in the castle.

I saw the little guy was probably scared, so I knelt down to pick him up. I was right, he was shaking, but he seamed to calm down a bit in my arms.

"So what are you going to name it?" Katra asked.

"I don't know." I said as I flipped him over to look at its face, thinking maybe it would tell me.

"Hey, look at the fur in its back. They look like wings." A boy chimed in.

"Yah, your right. Maybe you could name it Angle. You know, because they look like angle wings." Alexandria added. Angle, a little cliché, but I liked it. But before I could do anything else, Alexander came over and swooped Angle out of my hands.

"Boy." Well, I guess naming him Angle was out of the question now. And I was just starting to like it. But just then, he wriggled out of Alexander's hands and ran.

"Wait, don't go!" I said as I ran after him. He seamed to be looking for something, and must have found it, because he suddenly made a dash for the fountain. Was he thirsty? I followed just in time, because as soon as he got up on the ledge, he seamed to faint immediately. I got there just in time to catch him before he fell off. Oh no, was he dead!? What do I do, what do I do. Mr. Colbert came rushing over and took my cat from my hands. After a minute or two, he handed him back to me with a small smile on his face.

"Don't worry, he's not dead, just tired. The shock of the travel must have gotten the best of him. Have him get some rest and he should be good as new in a little while. But when he does wake up, be genital around him. He probably won't trust you right out, so treat him with respect. Try giving him something to eat, that should work. A saucer of cream perhaps."

"Okay, thank you Mr. Colbert." I felt tears welling in my eyes. I wiped them and headed for my room. I made a slight side stop at the laundry room to see if they had any spare materials I could use to make a bed with. When they saw the sleeping cat in my arms, two of the youngest girls squealed with joy and quickly rushed off to find a spare basket and blanket he could have. When they brought them back, I thanked them and said I would pay for replacements later. They said not to worry, but I insisted. My father had thought me to treat everyone with equally and repay any dept. As I walked back to my room, I couldn't help but think that he was really going to be popular with the girls at my school. If everyone kept mobbing him, it would be hard to get him adjusted to the place.

I found a nice spot next to my bed to place his bed, and set it down. I had no classes for the rest of the day, none of the second years did. We were supposed to take the rest of the day to get to know our familiars. But with mine asleep, that was going to be hard. I lay down on my bed and stared down at him. He really did look like an angle when he slept curled up like that. I started stroking his soft fur, and heard him purr a little. I must have fallen asleep also, because the next thing I knew, some one was pounding on my door again.

"Clair, are you asleep again. Wake up it's time for supper." Monique shouted. I sat up in my bed.

"Okay, coming, be right down." I rubbed my eyes. I looked down and saw that my cat was still asleep. He really must have been tired, he had slept through most if the day. My stomach growled as I realized so had I. Because of that long nap, I had missed lunch and was really hungry now. I got up and walked out the door, closing it as quietly as possible so as not to wake my cat.

When I got to the table, everyone was sitting together talking about their new familiars.

"You should have seen Alexander's dragon, that thing was flying circles around all the other familiars." Alexandria boasted.

"Except for my wonderful Torch." Katra proclaimed.

"Only because he cheated!"

"There creatures of opposite elements Alexandria, what do you expect to happen when they come into contact," Monique added in. "Something similar might happen if my Beawof fought against a strong enough air elemental creature."

"Are you sure you should be that happy you got him? His size alone will probably take up half your room."

"Well, at least he obeys his master's commands. How long did it take you to get that perverted snake of yours out of my clothes!?"

"Petey's not perverted, he just likes meeting new people, and that's his way of saying hi."

"Then how come he didn't do it to anyone else!?"

"He probably just likes you the most is all."

"Wonderful." Katra added with a wince. I saw an empty seat next to Alexander, sat down, and helped myself to some chicken. My presence didn't go unnoticed for long.

"So how is he?" Katra was the first to ask.

"Still asleep. I hope he wakes up soon, I'm stating to get a little worried."

"But Mr. Colbert said you have nothing to worry about, right?" Monique said.

"Yah."

"Then there's your answer. Just have some patience. You never know, when he wakes up, he might give you a surprise or two." She was right, I had to trust in Mr. Colbert's judgment.

The rest of dinner went on with everyone talking more about their familiars and what they could do. I found out that Alexander had named his water dragon Dulra, and that it was almost as fast as a wind dragon. Katra and Alexandria got into another fight over Petey and his greeting skills, but the rest of dinner was fairly normal. Afterwards, I went to the kitchen and asked the cook if I could borrow a saucer and bottle of cream. He gladly obliged, and I headed back to my room.

I sat the bottle and saucer on the table I had in the room and sat back down on my bed. The cat was still asleep. I couldn't believe it, some familiar he was going to turn out to be. Even if he was cute, if this was how he was always going to act, I really wanted a redo at the summoning spell. I laid down and thought over the days events again in my head. Everyone had gotten a great familiar, something that really reflected their character, and what did I get, a cat that faints after two minuets of being in this world, and then sleeps the whole day away. Not fair. My brother gets a hawk, my best friends get dragons, snakes, dogs and flaming birds, but what do I get, a lazy cat. I looked out my window and saw that the sun had gone down. I guess it was time for me to go to bed, maybe things would be better in the morning. I started getting ready, not really sure what to expect. I was just about to take off my shirt when a noise stopped me.

Merow! THUNK.

I turned around and saw that my familiar had finally decided to wake up, and had fallen out of bed. He has staring right at me with those big black eyes of his, I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. I was pretty sure I knew someone else that had gone though something similar, so I knew how he must have felt.

"Well, look who finally woke up. You really gave me a scare there, I wasn't sure what had happened." I said with a little pout. He backed away a little, so I stopped. Then I heard a little growl echo from the room.

"I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you some cream." I poured the entire bottle into the saucer and set it down for him to enjoy. I watched to make sure he would eat it. Instead, all he did was back away from it a little.

"Do you not trust me? Here, I'll prove it's okay." I back to the table in the middle of the room and picked up the spoon from the dinning set. I walked back, and took a small drink from the cream. "See, nothing wrong with it." I said with a smile. He waited for a few more moments, then walked forward and started drinking. Relief swept over me as I realized that maybe now he wouldn't be as afraid now, and maybe he trusted me. I turned to finish getting ready for bed.

After I had put my night gown on, I walked back to my familiar and saw he had licked the entire saucer clean. He gave a little yawn of satisfaction and looked up at me.

"Looks like someone was hungry, and after the day you've had, who could blame you." I said as I picked him up in my arms and walked over to my bed. He seamed to like this. He had nuzzled himself in my arms and looked like he was about to fall asleep again! How could you still be tired, you just slept thought the whole day! As I began to rub his head, he started to purr. At least he was starting to warm up to me, that was a start.

I started to think back to how timid he was around me just a few minuets ago, and now he was acting like we had known each other for years. Then it hit me, maybe he could understand minor bits of human language, along with sings and gestures. I sat him down and looked right at him.

"You're not like other cats are you? You seam to understand human language." He just stared at me for a few moments, then tilted his head to one side. Okay, this cat could have been pulled from anywhere in Halkeginia, so maybe he understood a different language.

"Do you understand me?" I spoke in Germain. The only reason I spoke this was because Katra was from there, as was her mother, who was friends with my parents as well. He just stared at me again, and then again, tilted his head. This made me feel really excited. I was right, he could understand my gestures, but had no actual idea what I was trying to say. But there was a problem, there where no other languages I could speak, I was only bilingual. And I was so close too. Then I realized it. I had studied a dead language a few months back in my history class. It was a long short, but maybe he would understand a few words, or ones like it. Then maybe that would help me understand what language he really spoke. I hope this works, I hardly know any of the words.

"Do you, u..und..understand me?" I stuttered. Man, I really suck at it. But it was worth it. He got a big surprised look on his face, which really made him look weird, and then he nodded his head in response.

*"I knew it, I knew it. I thought there was something different about you! Yes, this proves I'm like her. I have a familiar that understands human language!"* I couldn't believe it, he actually understood a dead language. He, only understood a dead language. Great, I really hoped that a variation of it existed today, or I was in trouble. But I didn't care, my cat understood me! I jumped and sent him flying across the bed and hit his head on the foot board. I rushed over and picked him up.

*"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to. I guess I got a little too excited when you...you..*yawn*. Oh, looks like I'm just as tired as you are, we've both had a busy day, so how about we go to bed now. Oh, I should probably introduce myself before we go to bed. Though I would probably have better luck if I spoke in the language you understand."* I sat him back down accost from me and pointed to myself. "My n...name, Clair." I stammered.

"Merow." Was all I got in response.

*"Do you have name?"* He nodded his head. Great, now I didn't have to worry about picking a name he liked.

*"Lets see if we can figure it out shall we."* I sat for a moment, then guessed. *"Rupert."* He sort of looked like one, so maybe. Nope, he shook his head. Figures, I would have been more surprised if I had guessed it on mu first try. I then started saying names as they came to me. *"Alfread, Henery, Berz..."* I continued this for the next fifteen minuets, with no luck. Every time I guessed a name, he just shook his head. It was hopeless, and I was tired.

*"Sorry I couldn't guess your name, but I'll try again tomorrow."* I crawled to the head of my bed and got under the sheets. He must have understood this meant I was going to bed, and started to go to his bed. "No no, I want you to sleep here." I said as I patted a spot next to me. He turned directions and trotted over to me and curled up. I lay back down and started to pet him again. I hadn't realized it earlier, but his fur was so soft, almost like silk. I quickly fell asleep.


	3. Day Two

**Day Two**

Clair woke with the sun shining down in her face. She sat up, stretched, and looked down in her lap. Her new familiar which she had just summoned yesterday, was still sleeping soundly, curled up in a little ball. Then she remembered what she had discovered yesterday, and bolted out of bed and began to get dressed. Kato was flung into the air, and landed right back on the bed.

_What's the big idea?! I was having a nice dream about being back in my own world, and you just had to go and do that! Show some courtesy to those who have been traumatized residentially will you! _"MEROW!"

*"Sorry little fella, I didn't mean to wake you so suddenly, but I really need to show you to my friends."* She said as she started to get dressed.

Kato got up and stretched a little before hopping down from the bed. He saw Clair sitting at a dresser with a mirror on it, and decided to take a good look at himself. With ease, he jumped up onto the counter and looked in the mirror. Even as a cat, he still had some distinguishable features. His fur was as dark a black as he had ever seen, but it still gave off a slick sheen. His four paws and the tip of his tail on the other hand, were white as snow. And then there was the matter of the strange fur patterns. Around his eyes were what indeed looked like a pair of glasses, and they were colored an almost ash gray color. He turned slightly and saw that the same ash gray color outlined a pair of wings that ran the length of his body. Now he could see why all the girls kept wanting to name him Angle, all he was missing was the halo.

*"Come on, lets go!"* Clair suddenly said. And with that, she swooped down, picked him up in her arms, and ran out the door to breakfast.

On there way down the stairs, Kato suddenly heard something that caught his attention.

_Ohhh, sshhhhee'sssss cute. I wonder what sshhhhee'ssss wearing?_ He looked behind them just in time to see something launch itself out from one of the nearby windows.

_Look out! _"MEROW!" He screamed as he pointed his paw behind them. Clair twisted around, just as the thing was about to attack.

*"PETEY STOP!"* It froze in mid air and dropped to the ground, right in font of Clair's feet. They both looked down to see a small brown snake, about two feet in length, curling on the ground. Then, Alexandria came up from behind and picked him up. *"I told you no more running off like that. You can't just say 'Hi' to everyone you meet, it's not very nice. You know how much trouble I got into yesterday when you greeted Katra. So please stay here for the time being."* And with that, the snake bowded his head a little, and crawled up her arm, and spiraling around it. When it was done, it almost looked like a jeweled bracelet. Then, Alexandria looked up and noticed who she was standing in front of.

*"Clair, good morning. I hope Petey didn't scare you to much, he just loves greeting people."*

_He certainly has one hell of a perverted way of doing it._

*"No he didn't. My familiar was actually able to warn me he was there."*

*"Really! That's soooooo cool! What else can he do? What did you name him, what did you name him? Did you pick Angle, I bet you did. Oh, no, wait, that's not a boy's name. Oh well, so what is it, what is it, what is it!?"* Alexandria said as she started jumping up and down.

_Good grief does this girl have an off switch? I feel like my ears are about to explode._

*"I don't know what else he can do, or what his name is. I'm waiting for him to tell me."*

*"What?"* Alexandria said in a flat voice.

*"I said, I'm waiting for him to tell me. I found out last night after he woke up that he can understand human language, and that he already has a name. So I'm waiting for him to tell me."*

*"That's soooooo cool. Let me know when you figure out. In the mean time, let's go get breakfast, I'm starving."* And with that, she grabbed Clair's arm and dragged her and Kato to the great hall.

Once in the great hall, Clair began to retell everyone what she had discovered last night. Kato sat next to her chair, haply drinking another bowl of cream, along with some bread he had managed to get Clair to hand over as well. He was slowly getting use to being a cat, but still desperately wanted to be a human again.

*"So you cat can understand humans?"* Katra said in an astonished voice.

*"Yes, but there's a small problem. You remember that dead language we learned about in history class a couple months back. That's the only language he seams to understand so far."*

*"Well, that is a bit of a problem."* Monique added.

*"Teach him another."* Alexander added after a minuet of silence.

*"That's a great idea! You could teach him how to speak our language, then you wouldn't have any trouble talking with him!"* Alexandria piped in. *"So, was he able to understand you even before you made the contract with him, or only after?"*

Clair suddenly remembered that she hadn't made a contract with her familiar at all. It had completely slipped her mind.

*"Um, well..."* At this, everyone looked at her in surprise.

*"You mean you haven't made a contract with him yet."* Monique was the first to say.

*"And he hasn't tried to run off?* Katra said just as shocked.

*"Okay, so I forgot, I'll do it right after breakfast. I don't think there's any reason to rush because it doesn't look like he's going to run away any time soon.

After everyone had finished, they followed Clair, with Kato in her arms, out onto the grounds. When they reached the middle of the grounds, Clair stretched her arms and held Kato in front of her at arms reach.

_Hey, what's going on?_

*"With this, I sign the contract between master and familiar."* Then she leaned in to kiss him.

_H..H..Hey, what are you doing!? _He started to squirm. _I appreciate the gesture, but I don't know you that well and I..._ They kissed. Kato jumped out of her arms and sprung around to look at her. He could see her face was bright red. He was about to start ranting at her, when his entire body suddenly felt really hot, almost like it was on fire. It was painful. He looked around and saw that his body wasn't on fire, but glowing. There were small dots of light at the tips of the fur on his body. Suddenly, his body started acting on its own. He stood up on his back legs, spread his front paws apart, and clapped them together. A large explosion that knocked everyone off their feet quickly followed.

Kato lay on his back, stunned. _This confirms it, I have to find a way out of here before I get killed._ He got up and looked over at the others, who were also dealing with the shock that they had just been thrown from an explosion produced by a common cat.

*"Is everyone okay?"* Clair asked.

*"I'm fine"* Monique groaned.

*"I've been through worse."* Katra replied.

*"Were okay as well!"* Alexandria said as she helped her brother up.

"Will someone please explain to me what just happened?" Everyone froze and looked around.

*"Did you guys just hear that?"* Katra asked

*"Yah, but I don't recognize what its saying. How about you Clair?"* Everyone just saw Clair looking down at Kato with an expression of aww on her face.

"You sp..spoke?" She stammered in English.

"Yes I spoke, do you see...wait, I spoke, I have my voice back. YES, FINALLY! This is great! Now maybe I can get some answers around here, and I'll start with, WHAT THE HECK IS GOIN ON HERE!?"

*"Clair, can you understand him?"* Katra came up behind her and asked.

*"No."*

"Great, this is just great. I can finally talk again, but as it turns out, we still have the language barrier in play, so I still can't get any answers as to where the heck I am!" Kato complained as he paced around the room. After Clair made the contract with him, other people quickly started to gather around them because of the large explosion he had somehow managed to produce. People started asking questions like mad, and when they found out that he could talk as a result, everything became a mad and wild blur of faces and questions being shouted. The next thing he knew, it was evening, and he and Clair were eating their supper in her room, so as to avoid more people hounding them.

*"Darn it, and I was really hopping to get some answers from you."* Clair pouted as she took another bite of her roast pork.

"You and me both sister." Kato replied from the other side of the room. He wasn't feeling very hungry right now, considering he had just had his hopes for answers crushed for a second time in only two days. Suddenly, he heard the sound of feet quickly approaching the room, followed by a loud knocking on the door.

*"Who is it?"*

*"Honestly, as if you don't already know."* A male replied from the other side. Kato watched as Clair jumped out of her chair and rushed over to open the door, on the other side stood a young man. He looked about his age, maybe an inch or two taller, had long, dark blond hair that reached down to the middle of his back that he tied up into a ponytail with a red ribbon. As he walked in, Kato saw light bounce off his half rim glassed that saw half perched on his nose. He also noticed the cape that trailed behind him was a different color than Clair's. While her's was black, his was purple. Different grade? Other than that, they were dressed the same, white shirt, black pants/skirt, black socks and shoes. So he obviously attended this school. He didn't like him. Animal intuition? Clair obviously knew him, because she instantly hugged him the second he walked in the door.

*"How are you doing little sis?"* The man asked.

*"I'm doing fine, it's so nice to see you again."*

The two of them walked over and sat down at the table and began talking. It seamed like they hadn't seen each other for a while, even though they went to the same school.

_Maybe he was off on some long-term field trip_, Kato thought to himself.

_That's exactly what it was._ A strange voice said.

_Great, I'm hearing voices in my head again._

_ No your not, I'm right here._

_ What?_

_ Look up._

Kato did as the voice said and looked up. There, perched in the shadows on one of the posts of the four corner bed was a bird, roughly the size he was. He could see his yellow eyes and long hooked beak looking straight down at him. This bird was a predator.

_W..who are you?_

_ My name is Falcron. Falcron Falcon._ The bird said with a little bow of his head.

_ Real original._ Kato replied.

_Yes, I know. So newcomer, I've introduced myself, what about you?_

_ My name is Kato. Hatsugawa Kato. Wait a minuet, you can understand me!?_

_ Yes. Why wouldn't I?_

_ Well, you see, ever since I arrived here, I've been trying to get some answers as to where I am and how I got here, but no one seams to be able to understand me. First I wasn't able to talk, now I can, but I can only speak Japanese, so I still can't get answers. I was about ready to give up when you started talking._

_ I see, that is a bit of a problem._ Falcron replied.

_So how is it that we can communicate?_ Kato asked.

_Animals have their own language that is separate from what humans use. We use a series of noises and gestures to speak, rather than actual words. But in our case, and every other familiar, we have signed a contract with our owners, so it is also possible for us to communicate telepathically with each other._

_ So I can communicate with Clair using telepathy?_

_ No, just other familiars and animals._

_ Crap!_

_ Sorry Kato, but your going to have to try something else if you want to get your questions answered._ At this, Falcron leapt from his perch, glided down, and landed right in front of Kato, his talons making a series of small clicking noises as they landed on the wooden floor. In the light, Kato wasn't sure if he looked more or less frightening. His feathers were charcoal black from his head to tail, and his chest was white with gray speckles. What really scared him though were the wings and talons. When he flew, he seamed to grow twice in size, and the claws looked like they could rip through steel. The pointed beak was just as terrifying. Kato was in aww.

_That reminds me, how did you get in here? The windows aren't even open?_

_ I came in with my master. _Falcron said pointing a wing towards the man Clair was talking to.

_Okay, but how?!_

_ I darted in above his head as he walked in and sat down up there. I have taken to being a bit of a lookout for my master when he visits with someone. It's an old habit._

Just then, a pair of hands closed around Kato's waist and lifted him up and onto the table. Clair sat down behind him.

*"So this is you familiar,"* the blond man said. *"Those are some interesting fur patterns on his back, they almost look like wings."*

*"I know, everyone says that. Alexandria even suggested I name him Angle because if it, but he didn't like it."*

*"So what did you name him?"*

*"I don't know, he already has a name, so I've been trying to figure it out. I did learn though that he can understand a dead human language, and can speak in another language that I've never heard before."*

*"Well that sucks. Have you tried asking him his name again? Maybe you can get an answer now."*

*"That's a great idea! Why didn't I think of that!?"* Clair said jumping out of her set.

*"Because your my sister, that's why."*

*"Very funny."* She said with that pouty look on her face again. She sat back down and turned to look at Kato, who had given up trying to figure out what was going on and just go with the flow. Clair took a deep breath and stuttered, "Wh..what is y..your name?" Kato realized what was going on and quickly put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Kato, Hatsugawa Kato."

Clair's face lit up like a Christmas tree after hearing this. She might not be able to understand him much, but at least she knew his name. Kato was now also a little relieved. This meant that he would no longer need to spend long nights playing 'What's my Name' with Clair anymore.

*"So what's this other language that he can speak?"* The man suddenly asked.

*"I don't know, but I feel like I've heard it before, maybe you can help me."* She turned back to Kato and spoke, "Speak Kato." Kato was slightly offended by this.

"What do I look like to you, a dog? Last I checked I was a cat, and even this is wrong." Both Clair and the man just stared down at him.

*"Your right, it does sound familiar."* There was another moment of silence, when Clair realized it.

*"Dad!"*

The next morning, Kato found Clair and himself riding in a carriage along with Alexander and Alexandria, bound for an unknown destination. They had gotten up at the crack of dawn, so Kato sat sleepily in Clair's lap while she petted him.

*"So why isn't your brother coming with us? He hasn't been home for at least five months."* Alexandria asked. Today, Petty was curled like a necklace around her neck. His emerald eyes staring right at Clair who sat across from him. Kato made sure to keep a close eye on him.

*"He said that he had to finish getting ready for an expedition with Mr. Colbert that was leaving within the next week. Mr. Colbert thinks he found some ancient ruins that may predate any found since. He's very eager to leave, so he has my brother running around and triple checking everything twice."* She said with a little giggle that made Kato's head snap up and look around.

*"Speaking of visiting home, why did the two of you so eagerly want to come and visit my house?"*

*"Oh, we didn't tell you?"* Alexandria said looking away innocently. Clair didn't like that look.

*"No, you didn't."*

*"Aunt."* Alexander replied.

*"What?"* Clair said.

*"Our Aunt is visiting your house. We got a message from her almost a week ago saying she was going to visit your parents for a short bit before dropping by to say hi to us. When we found out you were going home today, we decided to tag along and give her a surprise."*

*"WHAT!?"* Clair jumped out of her seat, and looked out the window of the carriage. Her parent's house had just come into view, and from what she could see, there was no damage to it. She sighed and sat back down. After a few minuets, Alexandria looked out the window.

*"Hey Clair, what color is the Queen's carriage?"*

*"I believe white with purple trim, why?"*

*"Because I think she's visiting too."*

*"No. Driver step on it!"* Clair shouted as the carriage gathered speed. All color seamed to leave her face. Kato was starting to get a little worried. The carriage pulled up and she saw that there were indeed two other carriages parked in the front, one with the royal cross of Halkeginia, the other with Gallia's. Clair jumped out and sighed with relief.

*"Good, everything's fine."* She spoke to soon.

As soon as she said that, a high pitched voice shouted from somewhere within the house.

*"YOU STUPID DOG!"* Followed by an explosion that was even bigger that the one that he had somehow managed to produce just yesterday. Smoke started billowing out of the roof, and from that smoke cloud, what looked like a rocket went shooting into the air and landed somewhere in the neighboring field. As everyone turned around to look back at the house, a woman in a maids outfit started running down the walkway.

*"Oh dear, I hope he's okay. Ms. Clair, what are you doing here?!"* The lady asked when she noticed Clair and everyone else standing there.

*"Well, I came to ask my father for some help with my new familiar."*

*"Wouldn't your mother be a little better for something like that?"*

*"Not in this case, no,"* she said shaking her head. *"I assume that.."*

*"Yes, that was him."* Kato didn't like the look on the lady's face.

*"So did you know that Tabitha was going to be here?"*

*"Yes, we got a letter from her about a week ago saying she would be dropping by for a visit."*

*"And what about the Queen?"*

*"She was more of a surprise visit."* The lady said blushing a little.

*"So what happened?"*

*"You father tripped and landed on Henrietta."*

*"And this would make number..."*

*"Three within the last week."*

*"Well, considering the circumstances, I think she's doing pretty well at controlling her temper. Thank you Siesta."*

*"Your welcome."* The lady gave a small bow and ran off into the field.

Kato really didn't like where his was going. Things went from weird to just plain crazy in a second. What ever was in that house, he really didn't want to meet.

*"Come on everyone,"* Clair said with a sigh, *"Lets go say hi to my parents." And with some resistance from Kato, Clair picked him up in her arms and walked to the front door.

The inside was much bigger than the outside led on. Outside, the house did look unusually large, but the inside was much larger than that. The floor was covered in blue tile, and at least four suits of full armor stood along the walls. In front, a large staircase with red carpet rose up in front of them, and split off in opposite directions midway. The largest crystal chandelier Kato had ever seen hung just above the center of the room.

*"Come on ,"* Clair said, *"everyone's probably in the lounge."* And Clair started walking towards a set of double door to her right. The doors were still slightly open, and Kato could hear voices on the other side.

*"Your didn't have to do that you know."*

*"But Your Highness, that idiot fell on you."* It was the same voice from before that Kato had heard outside.

*"It was an accident Louise. And it was partially my fault for asking him to carry such a heavy object without magic. There was no harm done."*

*"But the painting..."*

*"Can be fixed."* A more monotone voice said. It sounded familiar for some reason Kato thought. Clair knocked on the door and entered.

When the walked in, Kato saw probably one of the strangest things he had ever seen. There were three women in the room, the first two looked like they were in their early to mid-twenties, and the third looked like she was about sixteen. Not only younger, but about half a foot shorter then the other two as well. She was also the only one not wearing a crown, which lead Kato to believe the others were royalty. Then he saw the panting laying next to one of the sofas that were in the room. The frame was broken and half of it was burnt, but he could still clearly make out the younger girl as well as Clair within it. Where they sisters? Suddenly, a burnt log fell from the ceiling which made him jump. He looked up and saw the giant hole in the roof. To him, this seamed like the begging's of a bad joke, but to everyone else, it seamed like a normal day. This was crazy!

*"Clair, your home, what a pleasant surprise."* The oldest one said.

*"So is seeing you hear Your Majesty."* She replied with a little bow.

*"Aunty, anuty, aunty!" Alexandria sad as she ran past Clair and started hugging the middle one. Kato noticed their hair colors matched. Light blue. Maybe they were related? Alexander walked past, sat down on her other side and leaned against her.

*"Clair."* She said.

*"Your Majesty."* Clair said with another bow to her. *"So mother, you wouldn't happen to know where dad is, would you?"* She said as she turned to the youngest looking girl, whose hair was the brightest pink Kato has ever seen, yet it seamed familiar.

*"Uhh, h..he went out to..to the fields to...to see if he could help with the harvest."* She said trying to get some composure back.

*"Really, then he certainly took the most direct route there."* At this, everyone started to giggle a little as the pink haired girl turned an impressive shade of scarlet. Kato got the feeling that that was not the best thing to do.

*"But he..he.."* a switch must have flipped, because she was suddenly calm again. *"Yes, I know. But that idiot sometimes really..."* She said as she sat back down on the couch and crossed her arms.

*"So how long do you think it will be before dad will be back?"*

*"He can take as long as he wants!"*The pink haired girl said.

*"I thing I saw him land somewhere in the north field. He should be back in a few minuets. In the mean time, why don't you introduce us to your little friend there." The oldest said pointing to Kato.

*"Oh, yes, this is my familiar Kato. He's actually the reason I came to visit, I thought dad might be able to help me with a problem I'm having."*

*"What about me!"* The pink haired girl piped in.

*"No offence mom, but this is a little out of your range."*

*"Fine then, ask him!"*

*"Ask me what?"* Someone said from behind Clair.

Everyone turned to see the man standing in the doorway, smoking. Not a pipe or cigarette, but his body was slightly smoking all over.

_Was he the rocket?!_ Kato thought. Then he noticed that his hair and eyes were both black. It hit him, the reason the little pink haired girl looked familiar, and why he felt he had also seen this man for some reason. They were the two he has seen suddenly appear in the streets of Tokyo's business district ten years ago.

"IT'S YOU!" Kato said jumping up in Clair's arms. Everyone suddenly looked at him in disbelief.

*"You know your cat just spoke Japanese?"* The man said.


	4. Questions Answered

**Questions Answered**

*"What did you say?"* Clair asked the man.

*"I said, did you know that your cat just spoke Japanese?"*

*"I knew it!"* Clair said jumping up and down. *"I knew I had heard it some where! I knew it!"*

"Ack! Your...chocking...me."

*"Uhh, Clair..."*

*"What?"* She stopped jumping and looked down at her arms. There she saw Kato in a head lock.

*"Oops, sorry,"* she said as she set him down on the floor.

"Thank you," he said after catching his breath, "now will someone please tell me what the heck is going on here."

"Well, what do you want to know?" The man with the black hair said scratching his head.

"For starters, how about where in the world am I?"

*"What's he asking?"* The lady with purple hair asked.

*"He wants to know where he is."*

*"A familiar who doesn't know his own location, how pathetic."* The pink haired one scoffed.

*"Now Louise, you know I was the same way when I arrived. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that he wouldn't know either."*

"Does it really take three people to tell me where I am?" Kato asked a little annoyed.

"Sorry," Kato said turning back to him, "You are in the country of Tristain, located in Halkeginia."

"Halkeginia? Where on Earth is that?!"

"It's not on Earth. Halkeginia is on its sister planet. " The black haired man replied. Kato just stared at the man in stunned silence. He was on the sister planet, how was that possible. He must have been just sitting there for a while, because after some time, the silence was broken.

*"Okay, I was to know what you two were just talking about."* Everyone turned to look at Alexandria who was now standing with her arms folded. Se was disappointed that she was missing out on what seamed like a very interesting conversation.

*"Well, I was just telling him where he is, and I think the answer stunned him a little. If what I think is correct, this cat is from my world, Earth. Not only that, but my country of Japan as well."*

*"So he's from you were from?"* The purple haired one said.

*"Yep."*

*"Well that explains why he didn't know where he was, and possibly these strange marking on him as well."*

*"No, I'm still puzzled by those myself. I've never seen a cat with markings like those. Not even here."*

*"Maybe he could tell us where he got them."* Clair said now joining in the conversation again.

*"But do you think you could do something about his voice, I want to be able to understand him also," Alexandria said with a little pout on her face.

*"Good point. I am getting little tired with having to translate everything. And having some other people to help answer whatever other questions he might have would be helpful."*

*"Well, then does anyone know a translation spell?"*

*"Alexander might," Clair said. Everyone looked over to him, but he just sat there for a moment and shook his head slightly. He then turned to look at his Aunt.

*"No,"* was all she said.

*"Well, if even Tabathia doesn't know one, I think were stuck for the moment."* Everyone sighed. Even Kato seamed to know what was going on and looked a little disappointed.

*"No were not,"* a small voice said from the doorway. Everyone jumped a little and turned to look. The black haired maid Kato had seen outside when they had arrived had returned with a small tray of tea and cookies.

*"What is it Siesta, do you have an idea?"* The black haired man asked.

*"Well, I remembered Saito telling me of his first day here, and how Louise had tried to use a silencing spell on him, but it backfired and made him understand her instead."*

*"That's right, I remember! Siesta that's brilliant!"*

*"Really? Th..Thank you very much...Saito."* She bowed a little, and Kato was able to see her blushing a little with her head bowed down. Suddenly, he got a large chill run down his spine. He turned around to see the little pink hired girl glaring daggers at the man. He felt a little sorry for him.

*"Well Louise, do you think you can do it?"* The man asked.

*"Do what?"* She replied, now calming down a little once she realized he was talking to her.

*"The spell you used on me when we first meet. Can you do it again?"*

*"Sure I can."* She said getting up and walking over to him. When she stood up, Kato realized that she was a lot shorter then he first thought. Standing up, she looked like she would only come up to his chest.

She walked over and stood in front of him. She reached up her sleeve and pulled out a long slender stick, with an elegant handle. She lifter her hand above her head, took in a deep breath, and swung her hand down as quickly as possible. Nothing. Everyone stared at her, obviously expecting something to happen. All that did happen was her hair stood up a little, and her face turned red.

*"Uhh, Louise?"

*"Yes," she said a little irritated.

*"Do you still remember how to do it?"*

*"O..Offcorse..I remember. What makes you think I wouldn't?"*

*"Well, I just remember a large explosion happening last time. I thought another one would this time as well."*

*"Well sometimes spell change!"* She said spinning around to look at him. Everyone was silent for a moment, just looking at the two of them.

*"You don't remember, do you."* Kato said with a flat tone and expression to match.

*"SHUT UP!"* Louise said spinning towards Kato. This time, she pointed her wand at him again, and a blinding white light erupted from the tip, followed buy a large explosion.

Kato felt himself thrown backwards off of the table and onto the floor. Wind flew all over the place, as smoke poured all over the room. Everyone else was also blown back a little, but they knew what to expect, so they were prepared.

"Now that's what I remembered." The man said

"Is everyone okay?" A soothing voice asked.

"Were all fine over here." Another voice said from the couch.

"Me too Dad."

"Good, I'm glad to here."

"WILL SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT IN THE WORLD THAT WAS!?"

"Who said that?"

"Who? Have you forgotten already! You just tried to blow me up!" As the smoke started to clear, everyone looked in the direction of the voice. All they could see was a black scorch mark on the wall.

"I didn't to do it! The cat startled me," the little girl said. "I didn't want to damage the wall!"

"The wall! What about me!" The little girl turned back to the scorch mark. As she did, she saw a black cat walk towards her, as if coming out of the wall itself. She looked a little stunned.

"Was that you just now?" The man asked.

"Who else could it be?" Kato replied with annoyance. His fur had been covered with ash, so he was now completely black, and blended in with the mark on the wall. Everyone's eyes grew as big as dish plates. Suddenly, Kato was blindsided by a blue blur. He found himself lifted up and staring into two large blue eyes.

"Wow, a real talking cat! I can't believe it! Ohh, what else can you do Mr. Cat? Can you fly? Can you swim? Ohh ohh, how about dance? Well Mr. Cat?"

"Yes, Mr. Cat can talk," Kato replied, "but Mr. Cat also has claws and would like to be put down now," he said raising one of his paws. The girl quickly set him down and sat back down on the couch.

"Well looks like you did know after all." The man said patting the little girl on the head.

"Of course I did. I always knew."

"Could have fooled me," Kato said as he jumped onto the table, which was still miraculously in one piece.

"What did you say?" The girl said turning to him.

"Nothing," he replied quickly out of fear of getting hit with another explosion. After hearing this, the girl straightened up and retook her place on the couch.

"Well, now that that's all over, I think introductions are in order." The purple haired girl said wiping pebbles and soot out of her hair. "My name is Queen Henrietta de Tristain," she said gesturing to herself. "Across form us on the other couch is another one of my friends, Queen Charlotte Helene Orleans de Gallia, but everyone calls her Tabitha. Next to her are her niece and nephew, Alexander and Alexandria, and the maid who you met is Siesta." She paused for a moment, and then continued. "And sitting next to me is my dear friend Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Vallieve. The man you were speaking to earlier is her husband, Saito Chevalier De Hiraga De Orenielle, and behind him, the one who summoned you here is their daughter, Clair."

_She's their daughter. I hope she takes after her father, _Kato thought to himself while glancing out of the corner of his eye at Louise. He sat there for a few moments taking everything in before speaking.

"Well, thank you very much, it's a pleasure to meet you all," he said with a little bow, which for a cat, is a very awkward thing to do. "My name is Kato..., I am from Japan, and if it's not to much to ask, I would very much like to go back if possible." Everyone just stared at him for a short period of time with a slight look of curiosity on their faces.

"A familiar that wants to go home, that's rare. Clair, are you alright with this?" Henrettia asked.

"I don't see why we could give him the choice, he's just a lowly familiar. His job is to stay and protect Clair." Kato could see that Louise was a person with a superior attitude to herself. For some reason, it reminded him of his sister.

"Louise, do we really need to go through this again. After all, you married your own lowly familiar," Saito replied. Upon hearing this, Louise's face turned pink to match her hair.

"Okay," she said.

"Good. Now then, Clair, are you okay with returning Kato home." Saito turned to her. Kato had just realized that she had been quiet this entire time. He thought back to the time when she found out he could understand her, and remembered how she had reacted. He looked towards her. Her face was completely blank. She had a slight astonished look on her face, and nothing more. She took a step forward. Kato's animal instincts went into overdrive. He took a step back, and was about to run, but he reacted to slow. The next thing he knew, he was blind, having trouble breathing, and was feeling his entire body being thrashed around like a rope in a wind storm.

"Oh my god this is so cool. Not only can my familiar now talk like us, but he can speak a language from Earth, not to mention he's from Earth just like my dad! This is so cool. Oohhhhh, wait till I tell the others back at school! They'll be sooooo jealous! You know what, let's leave right now and go tell them!" She began to run for the door, when a voice echoed through the room.

"Slow down there missy, where do you thing you going so fast?" Clair froze and looked at her dad. Saito looked down at his hand to see that the ruins on it were glowing a bright blue.

"Of Derf, how are you doing?"

"I was doing fine until your daughter's squeals and screams woke me up."

"I was not screaming," Clair said in protest.

"Oh my gawd oh my gawd oh my gawd, this is sooooo amazing. I need to go tell everyone right now," he said in an imitative tone. Clair just stood there with a little pout on her face.

"Okay, so I was a little excited."

"If that's how you want to put it, fine. All I'm saying is that you need to consider your actions a little. For example, are you going to let him breath again?" Upon hearing this, Clair looked down at her chest, to see Kato flailing his arms with what little strength he had left. "Ahhhh!" She rushed over and sat him back on the table, where he sat chocking for a few seconds.

"Thank you," he sputtered between coughs.

"Now then, Clair," Saito said turning to her. "Kato did ask to be returned to his world. It seams he's not comfortable here. Is that alright with you?"

"What! When did he say that?"

"When you were off in dream land little missy," Derf replied.

"But, but, he just got here..." Clair looked like he was about to cry. How was it that one girl could go from such opposite reactions so fast Kato thought. But she collected herself before anything really happened.

"Alright," she said, "if he wants to go home, he can."

"That's my girl." Saito said giving her a hug. "Alright, let's go set up a portal outside." Everyone got up to leave the room.

"Great, thank you everyone," Kato said. "Now if someone could turn me back into a human before I go, that would be great." Everyone froze and turned to look at him.

"Turn you into a human? Why would you want to be a human?" Alexandria asked.

"Because I am a human."

"What!?" Everyone said in unison.

Kato then began to retell everyone of how he came to be here. He told them everything, from the mysterious voice, to the green oval, and the part about falling out of the sky. He even told them of the mishaps he's had since he got here, like how he found out he can talk with other familiars, and of Pete's attempt to sneak a peak at Clair's underwear. This got a glare from Pete, but not as bad as the one he got from Alexandria. Upon hearing this, Louise even looked like she might explode again. When he was all done, everyone just sat in silence staring at him. It seamed he would have to get use to this.

"Well," said Saito, "and I thought I had it rough."

"Being turned into a cat when summoned. I've never heard of something like that. Have you Tabatha?" Heneritta asked. Tabatha shook her head.

"Well, does anyone know of a way we might be able to change him back?" Saito said.

"I might," Tabatha said as she stood up. She grabbed her hooked staff, and stood in front of Kato. She pointed the end at him, and started to mutter multiple words in a language that Kato didn't know. Suddenly, a glowing light appeared from the tip of the staff. Kato was bathed in it, and felt a warm sensation all over his body. This lasted for a few minuets. When it was over, Kato opened his eyes to see...he was still a cat.

"Sorry," Tabatha said a little meekly and sat back down.

"It's okay, you did your best," Heneritta said.

"Sorry Kato", Saito said, "Tabatha's the strongest mage we know. If she can't do anything, I'm not sure if anyone can at the moment. Well look around for you and see if anyone knows anything, but for the moment, your going to have to get use to being a cat." Kato just sat there.

For a few minuets, everything was quiet. Everyone just stared at Kato, and he just sat on the table, with a look of bewilderment on his face, not moving a mussel. Clair walked over to him and crouched down to be able to talk to him.

"Hey," she said in a quiet voice, "are you okay?" Kato snapped his head up so fast it startled Clair.

"Okay? Am I okay? Are you really asking me that?!" Clair was able to see tears in his eyes, and small streaks down his fur. "I've just been abducted from my home to this world and turned into a cat. I've spent the last several days trying to be able to just communicate with someone, and when I do, and I ask to be returned home, they say okay. But when I ask to be turned back into a human, this ability eludes them, and they tell me to just deal with it. So how the heck do you think I feel!?" He slowly stood up and walked over to the edge of the table, almost to fall off it. His body wasn't taking the shock to well. Clair reached out to catch him.

"Don't touch me! It's your fault I'm stuck here!" Kato shouted. Clair retracted quickly and stood up. Kato leapt onto the flood and walked out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Clair shouted.

"To find my own way out of this mess you've made," and he bolted out the door.

Kato ran down the walkway and onto the road. He turned and raced down the direction they had arrived from. The school should have a library as well as teachers who would have a larger knowledge than these people. One of them just might be able to help him change back. Kato ran as fast as his legs could carry him. When he looked back, he couldn't see the mansion anymore. He didn't know how long he had been running, but he didn't care. The sooner he got to the school, the sooner he could leave. He kept running until it happened, he felt a large pain in his chest. His vision blurred, and he lost all sense of balance. He tripped over his own legs and fell. He hadn't realized how fast he must have been running, because when he hit the ground, he rolled and tumbled in the dirt several times before skidding to a halt under the shade of a tree.

When he opened his eyes, he could see the leaves rustling in the wind, and the light, dancing through the gaps between them. He couldn't feel parts of his body, but he didn't care, he felt at peace. The pain in his chest was gone, and he wasn't out of breath, so he decided to continue on. He tried to lift one of his paws, but it wouldn't move. He was barely able to lift his head. He felt, sleepy. Like someone had wrapped a warm blanket over him. He didn't want to move. The wind picked up, and he watched the grass dance around him. As he closed his eyes, he listened to the gentle lullaby around him.

"Wake up you idiot!" Kato felt his head being drilled into his desk. It hurt. He sat up, rubbing his head, looking into the face of Mitsumi.

"What's wrong?"

"It's lunch time. You said you'd sit with me and watch the cherry blossoms."

"Oh, right, sorry." Kato stood up, pulled his lunch out, and followed Mitsumi to the courtyard. They found an open bench and sat down. Mitsume started eating right away, but Kato sat there for a few moments rubbing his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Mitsumi asked with a mouth full of omelet.

"Yah, just a little tired."

"Well, that's what you get for sleeping in class. What were you dreaming about anyway?"

"What?"

"Well, I heard you muttering something about a world with magic, and that it was someone's fault."

"Oh."

"So?"

"So what?"

"What was it?"

"What?"

"The dream?"

"Dream?" Mitsumi got a little mad.

"Fine, don't tell me, see if I care."

"Sorry, you make it to easy," Kato sighed, "I was dreaming I was on our sister planet. That I was in Tristain."

"Where?"

"Tristain, one of the countries in Halkeginia. I was summoned there to be the familiar of a magical girl, but I was a cat."

"Why were you a cat?"

"I don't know, that's what I tried to figure out. Eventually I was able to communicate with her, but I could only speak Japanese."

"How could you talk? Cat's can't talk."

"I couldn't. Not until she kissed he that is."

"She kissed you!" Mitsumi shouted so loud Kato swore the whole school heard.

"Yah, so, it was just a dream. What's the big deal?"

"Nothing, nothing at all. Continue." Mitsumi sat back down and turned a little red.

"Well, she took me to her house, where I met her family and some of their friends, and they explained my situation to me. They said they could send me home, but they weren't able to change me back into a human. They would figure something out, but that I would have to deal with my situation for the moment."

"So what happened?" Mitsumi had become engrossed in his story.

"I...I yelled at them. At the girl. I said it was all her fault that I was stuck here. That I couldn't go back. I couldn't deal with it, so I ran. I ran back towards the school. I figured one of the teachers could help me better than those people. But, after running for a while, I collapsed. There was a burning in my chest, and I fell. I was under a tree, and I ended up falling asleep there. That's when you woke me up." Kato sat there, waiting for Mitsume to laugh at him, and hit him and call him an idiot like she always did. But she didn't. Kato looked over and saw her just looking off into the distance.

"You know something. You really are an idiot."

"What are you talking about?"

"The people you met. You ran away from them just because they couldn't help you."

"Yah, I was angry."

"No, you were scared and confused," she said smiling. "You have a tendency to look at only one side of the picture. You go with what you know and understand. You don't always take the time to really look and see it there is a larger meaning behind it. Just because they couldn't help you, doesn't mean they didn't want to. Remember that kid who was transported there ten years ago?"

"Yah."

"Don't you think he felt the same way? He was trapped in a world he didn't know. But he was able to take time to gather information from the friends he made there, to help him get back to this world."

"But he wasn't stuck as a cat."

"True, but your situations aren't that different apart from that." The bell rung signaling the next period was about to begin. The two of them stood up and walked back to their room, when Mitsumi turned around.

"And from what you've told me. If that girl is anything like me, I'm sure she didn't really want to see you go so soon."

"What?" The wind suddenly picked up and started blowing pedals all around the two of them.

"Don't worry about us Kato. Just promise me you'll make it back safe." The wind grew louder and the pedals made it hard for him so see. He saw Mitsume say something, but he couldn't hear it.

"What!?" He shouted, but he could see anymore. He was caught in a storm of pink pedals swirling all around him. Suddenly, he found himself falling down, through the vortex. No, more like floating. He was still descending, but more like he was gently being set down rather than plummeting. The pedals started to sparkle and glow brighter and brighter until he was blinded by the light. Then it disappeared completely. He was in complete darkness, but he felt something covering his face. He clawed at it until it came off. It was a sheet. He was laying on a pillow in a large basket with a blanket over him.

It was still dark, but there was a light shining somewhere. As his eyes slowly adjusted, he found that he was in a large room, about the size of the parlor he had met all those people in. The light he had noticed was the moonlight, streaming in from the large floor to ceiling windows that ran along one wall. He slowly looked around and saw a four post bed against the wall nearest him. He got up and hopped out of the basked. He looked down at the floor and saw two paws where his hands should be. He was a cat again, or rather, still was. It had all been a dream, about this being a dream. The thought of that made his head hurt, so he stopped think about it. He heard a soft rustling noise coming from the bed and walked over there. The first few steps he took hurt a little, but he kept going. He jumped up with some difficult and not as much grace as usual, but was able to stand there on the edge of the bed. He saw Clair sleeping in a half curled position, her hair trailing out behind her. She almost looked like a doll. He could hear her breathing softly, he didn't want to disturb her. He turned and was about to jump, when she spoke.

"I'm sorry Kato." Kato turned around, expecting to see her looking at him, but she was still asleep. Kato felt guilty now. He had run away from her, even though she said she would let him go home, and that everyone here would help him out. He had still run away, just because things didn't go the way he wanted. Mitsumi had been right. He didn't feel very sleepy anymore, so he decided to talk a walk. As he approached the doors, he thought they might be locked. But to his surprise, they opened with a slight push. He walked out and down the hall. As he did, he still felt a little sting of pain here and there, but not as bad as he had earlier.

He found himself in the main hall, with a large bay window in front of him. The light from the moon was poring in, bathing everything in a soft blue glow. The suits of armor in against the other wall, seamed to be standing at attention for the moon, looking straight ahead, ready to defend it from anything that might harm it. As he walked up to the window, he saw another figure standing there, looking up at the moon. As he got closer, he noticed it was Saito, the man he had met earlier. He decided to turn around and walk the other way, he didn't want to face him, especially after what he had said to his daughter.

"Don't feel like you need to leave. Please, come join me." Kato turned around, and saw Saito was still just staring out the window. He slowly walked forward towards him, and jumped onto the windowsill, this time, with a little more grace.

"Beautiful, aren't they," Saito said. Kato looked up and saw what he was talking about. Unlike the one white moon he had back on Earth, they had two moons here, one blue, the other pink. Kato was in awe at the sight of them. When he looked down, he saw his reflection in the window. Now he understood why he had had slight twinges of pain. The upper half of his back, along with parts of his legs and tail, were warped in bandages. But he could see that he was no longer covered in dirt and soot. He could make out the half rimmed glasses fur pattern around his eyes, as well as his white paws. Someone had taken the liberty to clean and dress his wounds.

"Clair did that."

"Huh?"

"Clair took care of you. After you ran off, Clair took off shortly after you. She said you had made it a good mile or so away before she found you unconscious under a tree next to the road. After she carried you home and cleaned you up, we saw you were covered in cuts and scrapes. Tabatha helped her with some healing spells, but Clair dressed all you wounds. After that, she set you in your bed, and promptly fell asleep herself. To be honest, you're lucky she found you when she did, you didn't look so good." Kato felt more ashamed of himself now.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Huh?"

"I said I'm sorry."

"For what?" Saito asked.

"For causing all this trouble. For yelling at you when offered to help me. For running away when things didn't work out. For everything," he sat there with his head hung down.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Saito replied. Kato looked up at him.

"What?"

"There's no reason for you to be sorry. If anything, it should be us who are sorry. It's because of us that you are stuck in this situation. You have nothing to be sorry about."

"No, I do," Kato replied, "I ran off and made you all worry about me for no reason. This could have all been avoided if I hadn't been so selfishly."

"True. It could have been," Saito said quiet frankly.

"Hey, I thought you were comforting me?"

"But then you wouldn't learn as much." Kato sat there, stunned. Was this guy really just ten years older than him? "And besides, you're not alone. You think I just sat in one place and did as I was told. For the first few days her, I too ran around trying to find my own way back, and do you know what it got me?"

"No, what?"

"Blown up. Multiple times." Kato didn't like where this was going. "But I realized that if I stopped and actually looked, I might find what I was looking for. And I did. It might take a while to find what you're looking for Kato, but you have my word, we will find out how to turn you back to a human, and get you home. But for the moment, try to enjoy the ride. It's a lot more pleasant that way. Believe me, if I had figured that out sooner, I wouldn't have taken so many flights." The two of them chuckled at this. They stood in silence for a few minuets, when they heard the soft sounds of footsteps on the floor. They turned to see Louise appear from down the hall, rubbing her eyes and holding a pillow and rubbing one of her eyes.

"Saito, what are you doing, it's the middle of the night"

"Sorry, I was having trouble sleeping, so I decided to talk a walk."

"But you left me alone again. You promised you wouldn't do that again. Stupid dog."

"Alright, I'll be right there." Louise turned and walked back down the hall. Saito walked after her, but not before stopping and speaking.

"One more thing. Don't be in such a rush to get where you're going, that you miss what you're really looking for. The most pleasant surprised in life, are the one's we find, in the least likely of places."

"Hurry up Saito," Louise called.

"Coming." Saito walked down the hall, and disappeared into the darkness, leaving Kato with his thoughts, and final words of wisdom.

* * *

I'm back! Sorry for the delay fans. I have a job in retail, and its the holiday season, you do the math. Anyway, I'd like to point out one thing, I misspelled Mitsumi's name back in the first chapter. I think I typed Mitskuni, when I meant Mitsume. No idea how I missed that. So if you notice the change and wonder why, that's why, so please don't comment on that. Any way, I plan on updating IS Mecha Gene next for those of you who read it. If you haven't read it yet, please do. As always, looking forward to you comments, tips and suggestions. Hear from you soon.

SpyGlassGear


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